Heather Broster
Today’s word of the day is something extremely annoying and sometimes quite hard to get rid of: the hiccups (also spelled hiccoughs) which in Italian translates as singhiozzo (masculine, plural: singhiozzi). singhiozzo hiccup Here are its definite and indefinite articles: It comes from the verb singhiozzare meaning to hiccup (when referring to a human being) …
The word for fear in Italian is paura and it derives from the Latin pavor meaning fear or fright. paura fear / fright / scared Being a feminine noun, it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: It can be combined with the verbs avere (to have), fare (to do/make) and prendere (to take/get) to …
One of the most effective ways of picking up a new language is through music and song. Not only does music make language learning more enjoyable, but it is also repetitive, allowing unfamiliar vocabulary and grammar patterns to sink in more quickly than if you heard them only a few times in conversation. Children, in …
If you attend a party wearing an abito da sera (evening dress) or a smoking (tuxedo), there is a very good chance someone will compliment you on how elegante (elegant) you look! The word elegante is used in reference to both masculine and feminine subjects. It can refers to clothes but also manners and attitude. …
Scarpetta in Italian is the diminutive of scarpa, the word for shoe or boot. It refers to any small shoe including a child’s shoe, a small and elegant shoe that ladies wear, or a flat sports shoe made of light and flexible material such as canvas or rubber. The idiomatic expression fare la scarpetta (lit: …
As you might have already guessed by the similarities in their spelling and pronunciation, interessante is the word for interesting in Italian. The singular interessante becomes interessanti in the plural. The gender of the subject doesn’t influence the ending as it does with some adjectives. Trovo che questo libro sia più interessante dell’ultimo che ho …